﻿Shortage of medicines in largest teaching hospital of upper Sindh

Larkana: Acute shortage of medicine, drugs, x-ray films, chemicals and other related items has started surfacing in entire Sindh province’s health institutions causing serious hardships for the poor needy indoor & OPD patients as they have to buy everything from market.

In this connection the Medical Superintendent, Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana, Dr. Safiullah Abbasi, has written a letter to Sindh Health Secretary informing him that CMCH is 1352-bed capacity largest Teaching Hospital of upper Sindh which is also facing acute shortage of drugs, medicine as its daily OPD attendance is over 2500 patients and admitted patients are over 1300 who arrive from various remote areas of more than 12 districts of lower Sindh, parts of Balochistan and even lower part of Punjab.

He further informed the Health Secretary that CMCH operation theaters are working round the clock to provide emergency cover to the injured and other serious patients along with dialysis which too is running in three shifts to cope up with the rush of kidney-failure cases.

The MS further added in his letter that Neonatology Ward & 350-bed capacity Shaikh Zaid Hospital for Women are also part of the CMCH along with 150-bed Institute of Child Health. He said that despite huge load of working shortage of drugs & medicines is being face daily due to which protest demonstrations are held regularly by the attendants of the indoor & OPD patients.

He said that Print & Electronic Media is also constantly highlighting this issue prominently. He has sought permission for utilizing 2nd quarter of the annual budget allocation or provision of guidelines how to tackle the situation.

An operated patient Manzoor Hussain, admitted in Surgical Unit-II, told PPI that he is regularly asked by the I/C dispenser to buy required treatment medicines from the open market and even bandage is not provided by this Government Hospital.

An injured who arrived at Casualty said that his attendants purchased everything from outside and nothing was provided to him from the hospital side.

Sindh Chief Minister has granted permission for formulating a Central Procurement Committee (CPC) but it has so far failed to procure required drugs/medicines etc. for the entire healthcare system in the province which has caused extra burden over the poor OPD/indoor patients.

The affected people have demanded high level inquiry into the ceases of shortage of medicines and demanded that the hospitals should be provided the needed medicines and supply on priority.